A Coupled-Mode, Phase-Resolving Model for the Transformation of Wave Spectrum Over Steep 3D Topography: A Parallel-Architecture Implementation

Abstract

The problem of transformation of the directional spectrum of an incident wave system over a region of strongly varying three-dimensional bottom topography is studied, in the context of linear theory. The Consistent Coupled-Mode Model (Athanassoulis and Belibassakis 1999, Belibassakis et al 2001) is exploited for the calculation of the linear transfer function, connecting the incident wave with the wave conditions at each point in the field. This model takes fully into account reflection, refraction and diffraction phenomena. The present approach permits the consistent transformation of any incident directional wave spectrum over a variable bathymetry region and the calculation of the spatial evolution of point spectra of all interesting wave quantities (free surface elevation, velocity, pressure), at every point in the domain. This approach can be extended to treat weakly non-linear waves.